The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his hypertensive heart disease and right index finger disability, as well as his claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability by reason of service-connected disabilities. The veteran's claim for dependents' educational assistance benefits was also denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not meet the criteria for higher ratings under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertensive Heart Disease, Right Index Finger Disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 10%
- Decision date
- April 2, 2003
- Citation
- 0306362
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,582 · Granted: 32% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0306362.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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The Veteran's CAD warrants a 60 percent rating, but the Board has determined that an earlier effective date is warranted due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding direct service connection.
- Granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for coronary heart disease effective February 10, 2021. The Veteran's condition did not meet the criteria for an earlier effective date or increased rating.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted SMC at the rate of 50% for his service-connected conditions from April 20, 2020 to June 7, 2021.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a compensable evaluation for service-connected erectile dysfunction was granted. The claim for an increased rating in excess of 60 percent disabling for service-connected hypertensive heart disease prior to March 31, 2023 was denied.
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